South West Investment Fund has launched

Thursday 6 July saw the launch of the South West Investment Fund (SWIF). This post gives some background to the fund which will “will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for new and growing smaller businesses for various purposes, such as expansion, product or service innovation, and new processes, skills or capital equipment.”

Background

SWIF is a £200 million investment fund to support the growth of small and medium-sized businesses across the South West of England. It was first announced in UK Government’s Spending Review 2021.

The South West Investment Fund will offer a range of commercial finance options with loans from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million.

The new fund will:

cover the entire South West region including Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire
be split roughly 50/50 between two zones. One zone is Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Heart of the South West LEP (Devon and part of Somerset) areas and Dorset. The other zone consists of Bristol, Gloucestershire, the rest of Somerset and Wiltshire
be delivered through intermediaries (see further below) and not directly by British Business Bank
be delivered as smaller loans (£25k to £100k) and debt finance (£100K to £2m) and equity

The creation of the fund follows successes in other geographic areas with similar interventions – the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) and Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) and the EU funded Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIoSIF).

Eligible businesses

Businesses based in the region or are carrying out a significant level of activity in the South West can apply for SWIF funding. These businesses include startups, early-stage businesses and those with expansion or growth plans.

Who will be delivering the fund?

SWIF will be managed by the following fund managers:

Cornwall and IOS, Heart of the South West LEP (Devon and part of Somerset) areas and Dorset

Bristol, Gloucestershire, part of Somerset and Wiltshire

Smaller loans (£25k to £100k)

South West Investment Group

Debt finance (£100k to £2m) and equity

FSE Group

FW Capital and Maven

Applications for funding are made directly to the relevant fund managers.

More information

More information on the SWIF can found at British Business Bank webpage dedicated to the fund.

And you can attend event(s) hosted by SWIF across the next 2 weeks:

St Austell, Eden Project – Tuesday 11 July 15:00-17:15
Exeter, Exeter Science Park – Wednesday 12 July 14:30-16:45
Bournemouth, The Nici Hotel – Thursday 13 July 09:30-11:45
Swindon, Swindon Town Football Club – Thursday 13 July 16:00-18:15

You can book a place at these events by following the link above.

PKF Francis Clark

We have been eagerly awaiting the launch of SWIF and will be keeping in touch with the British Business Bank and the fund managers to get more of the detail – and we will continue to keep you informed.

We are also exploring the potential for British Business Bank and the fund managers to present at one of our Deep Dive webinars – watch this space!